Fear At Its Worse
by jjboivin
Summary: Tori, a twenty six year old woman with a bad past, meets Spencer Reid. Unable to keep her mind off the agent, she embarks on an adventure in which she has to visit the painful memories of her parent's murder and march straight into her worst nightmare's beckoning arms. S. Reid/OC. Rated M for blood, sex, drugs, and more.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, first chapter of this Criminal Minds fic I was requested to do. Please, if you like it review please please please! Tell me how it is!  
Enjoy!**

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Chapter one: The Worst

The night had begun like any other night. The sun had set west, drowning the town into a dusty darkness. The moon had risen in its' entirety, bathing the world with its' natural glow. Cars had stopped circling and had parked at their rightful places, while everyone locked their doors and got ready for bed. Every light in every window started to shut, one by one the citizens of town closing in for bedtime. Children were being read their bedtime stories, while lone couple sneaked under the covers. Everything seemed like every other night, of every other normal day. Only, it wasn't going to end like every other night had.

Tori Summers was brushing her baby teeth in the bathroom, her reflection of her seven year old self smiling in the mirror. Even though she'd whined and whined to her mother of her baby teeth being still intact, the teeth had not fallen. What was even more unnerving for the child was that all her friends at school had all started to lose theirs, but not Tori. "Tori, are you done?" her mother bellowed on the other side of the closed, bathroom door.

"Almost!" Tori replied with difficulty due to the tooth brush in her mouth. She spat in the sink and opened the water, rinsing her tooth brush and her mouth. A 'clink' sounded in the cup in which the child put her pink tooth brush in before the door swung open and the mother stood in the doorway.

It was the same. Shelby Summers stood, high, in the doorway to the bathroom. Her blonde hair was pilled like hay on top her head, her blue eyes glazed over by heavy eyelids. Dark circles rimmed her blue orbs, a red swelling puffing under her lower lashes, signs of a high evident. Tori knew what being high meant from a very young age. She knew that her mother wasn't herself when she sniffed the white stuff on the glass table, and that daddy wasn't friendly when he drunk all the bottles from the shelf over the sink. The child knew her parents were not normal, that other parents went to work, cooked diner and dressed their kids. However, Shelby and Donald Summers never did such a thing since she entered kindergarten, and even before that they did the strict minimum. Something they never told their only daughter was that she hadn't been expected, that would explain their neglecting behaviour towards her.

"Why do you always take so fucking long?" Shelby yelled, her hazy eyes boring into the soft green of the innocent child in front of her. Tori was used to the swearing, the screaming and the usual physical fights between her parents, it wasn't new. So, when her mother yelled at her using curses, Tori bowed her head, but was not surprised.

"Sorry mother," the child mumbled, looking at her bare feet under her night robe.

"Whatever, just go to bed," the mother replied, pushing by her daughter, hands reaching for the sink to steady herself.

"Good night, mother," Tori tried, not daring to look at her mother's face. The child sped away from the bathroom and aimed for her small bedroom. She heard the T.V set buzzing with static in the living room and the usual clatter of beer bottles. Her small feet carried her slowly, her toes digging into the soft carpet in an attempt to be very quiet. Her room was on the other side of the living, the child had no choice but to pass through it. Donald would surely be asleep, but if he woke up and saw his daughter, the child would surely earn a slap for waking her father.

Surely, Donald was asleep on the arm chair, head lolled to the side and mouth opened. A bottle of booze was sitting on his stomach, his shirt pulled up to his abdomen so his belly button showed. As quietly as possible, Tori walked through the room, careful not to step on a can or bottle. Her quick step carried her rapidly to the corridor and to safety. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in. "Close one," she whispered to herself, walking through the door to her bedroom.

The child didn't bother to open the light, jumping right into her bed and pulling back the worn out sheets. She snuggled under them and covered herself with the warmth, the night being chilly due to the beginning of winter arriving soon. She closed her lids, and listened to her breathing until she drifted off.

"Tori! Tori!" someone was whispering her name in her ear. Through disturbed dreams, Tori heard her name being whispered strongly in her ear again. "Wake up baby!" the person trying to wake her shook her small body by the shoulders. The child groaned, her head fuzzy with sleep as she turned in bed. Her head rolled on the pillow and she fluttered her eyes opened.

In the dark, the child could see her mother's face very close to her own. A frown knitted the delicate eyebrows of the child as she took in the condition of her mother's face. Tears streaked down the woman's face, blue eyes blazing with fear. The dark lashed circling the eyes were drenched in tears that rolled down her soft cheeks and hung at her jaw. Shelby's blonde hair was stained with something dark and wet that glistened in the dim lighting of the room. Her breathing was way to heavy, her lip was busted and she kept looking back at the open door that led to a dark hallway. "Tori, listen to me," she whispered to her daughter. Tori nodded, sleep totally gone after taking in the petrified look of her mother.

It had happened a couple times before, that Shelby barged in like that in the night. It was mostly because Donald had passed out, had an overdose or was vomiting blood. However, never had Tori seen such a terrified look in her mother's eyes before. Something was different about the way she looked at Tori and back at the hallway, and the way her chest heaved up and down quickly. Tori reached out with her small child hand to her mother's hair, intrigued by whatever was sticking her hair. Shelby watched with careful eyes that continued to slip tears. "Mother, what has happened?" the child whispered quietly.

Blood. That's what stained Shelby's hair. Tori looked at the dark red substance on her skinny fingers before her own breathing started to accelerated. "Tori, please, listen to me," Shelby begged, taking her daughter's hand in hers and bringing her blue eyes to the soft green of Tori. "I love you very much, okay, and I need you to do something for me, okay?" she asked, a sob escaping her chapped lips.

"What?" asked Tori, her heart beat increasing as the level of fear inside her rose.

"I need you to get under the bed and stay there until I come back for you, okay baby?" the mother asked, taking the other hand of the child in hers.

"Okay," Tori answered, her voice betraying her and showing her fear. What was going on? As Shelby helped her child get under the bed, a small thud erupted through the house. The woman jumped, a soft cry emitting from her lips as she pushed her daughter further under the bed. More tears jerked from her eyes, staining her cheeks.

Once Tori was safely lying under the bed, eyes searching her mother's expression, Shelby leaned in and kissed her soft forehead. "I love you so much, baby, I'm so sorry," the woman whispered, a hand going up to the child's dark, thick curls.

"Mother, what is going on?" the child asked, tears rimming her eyes as her voice cracked. Shelby grimaced in sadness, planting another kiss on the child's forehead.

"Oh baby, don't cry," was her answer. "Just stay here until I come back for you, alright?" she added and the child nodded.

Shelby got to her feet trembling and exited the room in silence. For a moment, Tori heard two sets of breathing, her own and Shelby's. Then, just her own. Her breathing was ragged as she strained her ears for any sounds, eyes spilling tears. She wanted to crawl out from under the bed and go look for her mother, but she always listened to what her mother said. A chill ran down the child's spine as the trembling got worse. Her hands shook like leaves, her head trembling and making lose strands of her dark hair get in her eyes. "Mama," she whispered. The child was scared to the bone, lips trembling and eyes leaking tears that streaked down her soft, ivory cheeks. "Mama," she whispered again.

A scream rang through the house, scaring the child into recoiling back under the bed. "No! No, please!" it was Shelby. Her voice wasn't hers, but of fear itself. The ragged sound of her voice bounced off the walls and hit the child's eardrums so intensely, that the little girl had to cover her ears and squeeze her eyes shut.

"Don't do it! Please don't hurt her!" it was Donald now, pleading like Tori never heard him plead before. His voice was drowned in pure fear as well, cracking under the pressure of the feeling. "Please, NO!" there was a loud sound, like a bone cracking. Tori heard her mother scream out and her father, then just her father. "You son of a bitch!" he yelled. "You piece of trash!" there was another one of those sounds, repeatedly, and the sound of gurgling following every blow. After seven (Tori counted), silence fell.

For a moment, Tori stared at the floor, the only sounds edible being her heart beat and her breathing. The beating of her heart was so loud and hard that she thought it would burst through her chest in flames. Silent gasps escaped her mouth, her whole body being numb and her mind fuzzy. A huge wave of fear overcame the child then, as she pieced everything together. Mommy and daddy were hurt. Mommy and daddy were silent now. What happened? "Mama, daddy?" the child whispered, tears flowing out of her eyes. Trembling like a leaf from head to toe, the child knocked her forehead against the soft carpet of her room and let out a sob. "Mama, daddy," she said louder.

The sound of footsteps quieted her. Her head jerked up and her eyes widened as the trembling increased. The fear inside her twisted at the core of her being, flaming up as the steps got closer. The monstrous fear burst through all of her, flaming through every vein and artery of her body as a pair of big, black boots appeared in the doorway. A silent gasp emitted from her lips as she recoiled even further under the bed. That was not mother or father, but the bad person who had hurt them.

The boots walked on, the carpet scrunching under the weight. They strode to the middle of the room, facing away from the bed where the petrified child lay under. The intruder sighed heavily, and then the boots turned and walked towards Tori. The child recoiled, curling into a ball as another gasp slipped through her lips. Instinctively, she put a hand to her mouth and but the skin there in utter fear. The boots stopped at the bed, and a black gloved hand appeared holding a piece of paper. The intruder lay the piece of paper under the bed, and then walked off quietly and slowly, leaving the child alone with her fear.

The child stayed put, hand on her mouth and trembling to the core of her bones in fear. After a while of utter silence, the child reached out a trembling hand for the small piece of square paper. As her fingers touched the rough surface, the child noted it was white cardboard, like the kind of paper she used when she did scrap-booking at school. She brought the paper closer, the surface trembling like her hand was. When her eyes hit the paper, her whole body heated up in pure fear.

The paper read: _you're welcome._

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**_Ok, so please review and tell me how it is, thanks!_**


	2. Chapter 2: The Encounter

**Please review!**

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Chapter two: The Encounter

"Another round please!"

Tori was working her ass off at the bar, running around serving drinks for every college boy who were buying drinks for girls they hoped to get lucky with afterwards. The club was packed tonight with sweaty college kids. It was Spring Break, and all the kids who loved to get drunk until they vomited ran to the clubs for a good time. It had only been two days since the Break started and Tori already had to drive three girls home because they passed out in the lounge upstairs and didn't remember a thing. What was even worse, was the condoms that the guys just so carelessly left hanging around, used. Tori had this little thought once in a while to put the contents of the condoms into one of the guy's drink, just to let them have a taste of the crap that Tori had to clean up after closing time at 4 a.m.

"Hey, girl, I said another round!" the boy at the bar yelled, his square body leaning over the purple glass of the counter as his hands held him in place. Tori spun around, bottle of Tequila in hand and shot glasses in the other. Her face told him everything. She was pissed off and about to burst. However, she restrained herself because Harvey, her boss, threatened to fire her if she lashed out at a customer again and she really needed the job. She couldn't pay her apartment with only the wage of a cashier, so she switched to bartender. With her average looks and body shape, she was doing an average job. Once in a while, she still got good tips.

So, the brunette forced a genuine smile to pull at her lips and strode over to the boy at the counter. "Sorry," she apologized loudly through the booming music. The boy rolled his eyes and quirked his eyebrow. Tori bit her lip, trying not to reach over and slap the guy in the face. "You asked for how many?"

"Four," he spat, as the bartender filled four shots with Tequila. College boy watched with intense eyes and then put the money on the counter, took the drinks and disappeared in the crowd. Tori sighed, took the money and threw it in the metal box under the counter.

"Hey!" someone was calling for her to serve them, so she puckered her lips into a smile, put the Tequila down and turned. A man with tanned skin and a very well built body was standing at the other end of the bar. Truthfully, he was Annie's, the other bartender, since he was on her side. However, Annie was busy flirting with a college boy, her body leaned over the bar so she could show him those huge boobs of hers. With a roll of her green eyes, Tori strode towards the customer.

"What can I get you?" she asked. The man was bald, but he was still a looker. One of those Alpha males, surely, that thought women were their property. He had this look of utter confidence in himself as he smirked at her and tapped his thumbs on the glass.

"I'll take a beer," he said, which made Tori huff under her breath. "And-wait," he turned his body to the left, his head turning side to side, looking for a friend, probably a girl. Tori waited as patiently as possible, smile painted on her lips as she watched the man search for someone.

Suddenly, a thin, young man appeared next to him. He smiled a quick and small smile to the dark man, waving his hand in the other direction. "Sorry, I was caught up in the crowd," he stated loudly over the music. He wore a beige long sleeve shirt, khakis and a dark brown, leather bracelet around his surprisingly thick wrist. His hair was cut short, but long enough so his hair fell over his forehead. He was white, but still had a little tan to him. His eyes were of a dark, chocolate brown that made Tori lean in to get the color right. His lips were well formed, almost delicious. What made the brunette smile even more was the cute, small shape of his nose that matched the soft square shape of his jaw. "…Please," Tori hadn't realized that she had been staring at the man, too intrigued to notice. Honestly, he was interesting for the girl with his looks and cute smile.

"I'm sorry, what was your order?" Tori asked, shaking her head. The dark man laughed, turning to his friend with a huge, childish grin on his face. The thinner man looked away for a short second and licked his lips. He took a hesitant step forward and put his hand on the glass.

"I'd like a beer too, please," he asked, giving the bartender a wiry smile that she returned pleasantly. The man looked shy, almost reserved, not like his darker friend was. The two were on two different poles.

Tori nodded and headed for the stock. She took out two glasses and poured the beer that the two men asked for. While her hand pulled on the handle and the other held the glass, she felt like she was burning. A frown knitted her delicate eyebrows together as she felt the flames on the right side of her face. When she made a hesitant turn, her green eyes were met by the soft chocolate brown of the thin man on the other side of the bar. As soon as their eyes made contact, he turned his whole body away in a jerk, his back to her. With a huff, Tori started to fill the next glass. "Hey, I want-"a guy from across her started, but she stopped him with a hand in front of him.

"Just a second," she replied, before walking over with the two beers in her hands.

When she made it to where the intriguing guy was, his friend had disappeared. Tori frowned. Who would pay for the beer? As soon as she set the beers down, the guy turned around and gave her one of those smiles again, his eyes barely meeting hers as he grabbed his drink. "Can I get you anything else?" she asked cautiously, trying to buy time with him. Something inside her told her to stay close to him, since he looked like he would start to cry in this over populated club.

"No thank you…?" he answered, asking for her name at the same time. Tori smirked, passing a hand in her dark curls that she had let hang loose that morning.

"Tori," she answered, and the man smiled. He nodded as he took his first sip of his beer.

"That's a rare name," he commented. "Most parent's name their children long and complicated names these days. Back in the day, children had names that represented their wealth. The poorer people had more children; therefore the names were shorter while the richer people had less, so the names were longer and more profound." Tori huffed, impressed at how quick and mindlessly he had just told her that. Her eyes widened and her lips parted like she wanted to add something, but she decided against it. The guy took another hesitant sip, his eyes searching the crowd.

"You learn that at school?" Tori joked as his brown orbs met hers again. He smiled and jerked his chin up a bit like he was trying to give himself more confidence. How shy he seemed as he talked to Tori.

"University actually," he replied. Tori quirked a brow and her smile fell.

"Uh, sorry to ask, but how old are you?" she asked, brows furrowing as he took another step towards her. He looked young, maybe late twenties.

"Twenty-seven," he replied. Well, not so bad, but University took a long time to finish. Maybe he was one of those people who had an intelligence off the grid. "You?" he asked in return.

"Twenty-six," Tori answered almost proudly. He nodded.

"Oh, I'm Spencer by the way," he added, jumping up like he had forgotten something.

"Where's your friend?" Tori asked. Spencer's face fell a bit, like he was disappointed in her. Oh, he thought she was interested in his friend rather than him. Well, that was not the case. Tori didn't really like Alpha males since she thought they were arrogant men who thought they owned the world. "He needs to pay his beer," she added, biting her lip as she saw his little smile return.

"Miss!" oh right, she had to return to the job. Spencer pointed a finger at the man who had called for her. Tori jumped and made an awkward, hesitant turn before she waved at Spencer.

"See ya," she said.

"Yeah, see ya," he confirmed, smiling at her before she sped off.

She offered out five Tequila shots, some weird, specified drinks and some more beers before she was allowed a break. Thankfully, Annie had taken over Spencer and his friend. Tori headed for the back of the bar, grabbing her vest on the way. Her boots squeaked on the tiled floor in the back room as she searched in her little locker for her phone. Digging around some girl stuff, shoes and clothing, she finally found the device. She had a miss call from her foster mother, Lenora, and three missed call from Tyler, a guy she had messed around with a little in high school and who had decided they were going to spend their lives together. She had accepted they be friends after high school, but she shouldn't have. The guy was like glue, always wanting to be with her.

Tori sighed, shaking her head as she carried the device with her outside the back. Stepping foot out in the hot night, Tori ventured on in the street and leaned against the wall of the club, looking around the corner at the line of people wanting to get in. She flipped her phone open and decided on calling Lenora first since she probably had a good reason for calling Tori earlier. The phone rang three times before it was picked up. "Hello?" Tori knew it was a bit late for Lenora, but she wanted to know why the woman called. Looking at her watch, Tori sighed into the phone.

"Hey, it's me, I know it's late but I saw that you called," Tori explained, noting the time only being 10 p.m. but that was very late for Lenora.

"Yes, I called because I want you to come home," Lenora answered, her voice tired and roach. Tori frowned, fidgeting on her feet. Lenora knew she worked late at night until her shift ended, and that she always returned to her apartment, not back home.

"Lenora, I have an apartment, you don't need to worry about me," Tori assured, sure that the woman's only worry was to get Tori safe. There was a sigh on the other side then silence.

"Tori, police officers came by this afternoon wanting to talk to you," Lenora announced, making Tori tense up. "They said you weren't at your apartment, so they came here. Honey, they said it was about your parents," the shock hit Tori from behind. Her whole body froze, a low and cold chill running up her spine and locking her in place. The whole environment started to shift, waving around as the colours of the night spilled into one another. Dizziness overcame the girl as the words rang in her head. Your parents. Her eyes shut for a moment as the faces of her parents flashed behind her closed lids, and a fear erupted in her as she heard her mother's last screams. "Honey!" it was Lenora, screaming on the other line.

Tori gasped out of her haze, breathing heavy as she realized she had been holding in a breath. Blinking a couple times, Tori looked around and up at the sky. The moon was full and high, bright and illuminating the world. Breathing out again, Tori went back to the phone at her ear. "Yeah, uh, sorry," Tori dabbled into the phone, her hand squeezing the device.

"They said they'd try to come see you at the club later, so I called you to warn you," Lenora continued on the other end. Tori shook her head and closed her eyes, her heart beat increasing. Shit, this wasn't good at all.

"Uh, uh," Tori's voice was shaky, looking for words as she wobbled around, her hair falling over her eyes.

"It's okay, Tori, just breathe," Lenora tried to soothe, shushing in the phone which only caused a static like sound.

"I'll-I'll c-call y-you back," Tori stuttered and before Lenora could reply, Tori snapped the phone shut.

Tori grabbed at her hair, pulling at the roots with her fingers as she fidgeted in place. The phone still in her right hand, the young woman moaned out as she felt her whole body lit up in flames. No no no no, she groaned internally, squeezing her eyes shut as the last memories of her parents came flooding back. Tori saw her mother, leaned in from under the bed with tears streaking her cheeks and her brows curved up in sadness. The utter fear could still be read on her face, grasping every delicate features of the older woman as she looked upon her child for the last time. "I love you so much," her last words replayed in the brunette's mind, circling in a painful tremor like a huge migraine would. The image of her mother shook, her face blurring as screams filled the air. Fast as lightening, Shelby vanished and it was the big, black boots at which Tori was staring at.

Fear shook the image again and the child found herself staring at the dark pools of blood of her parents after the police had found her. Green child eyes looked straight at the reflection of their owner in the dark pool of her mother's blood. The thick substance reflected the child's fear struck face in a dark, demoniac color. The green eyes, red with tears, tore away from the blood and up at the stained walls. It dripped from every where and everything. Leaking from the family portraits on the walls, drooping from the couch arm rests, and staining the glass table on which Tori's mother used to get high on. Everything looked from a horror story. Tori still clung intensely to the paper with the note when her eyes skidded to the two stretchers on which her parents' bodies lay in a dark bag.

"Excuse me, miss?" Tori snapped her head up and back, her eyes opening wide at the familiar voice behind her. Every image in her head flew away with the sudden wind that blew in her hair, causing the fresh tears on her cheeks to chill her face. With a quick gesture, the young woman wiped away the two tears from her eyes and sniffed loudly.

Spencer, and his dark friend, stood a couple of feet away from her. His face wore a look of compassion and sadness, his slim body leaning forward in an attempt to try to show his sympathy to the girl in front of him. The friend next to him had his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans, eyebrows rose in the same look as Spencer and mouth twisted in a line. Surprised about their expressions, Tori frowned, taking a hesitant step back in suspicion. "Spencer," she greeted, bringing her tear jerked eyes away from him so he wouldn't ask questions. The thing the young lady hated above all was people who asked questions.

"Hi," he said, his voice calm and a bit roach. "Can we talk?" he asked, the question making the girl frown even deeper.

"About what?" asked Tori, looking at his dark friend behind him and back at Spencer. The slim man slowly and gently brought his hand back to reach in his back pocket, his other hand up in surrender and his eyes pleading Tori to cooperate. Spencer took out a little black, leather note book. Well, it looked like a notebook until he flipped it open and it held a blue and white badge with his picture underneath.

"I'm Dr. Spencer Reid, and this is Agent Derek Morgan," he began slowly, letting each word roll of his tongue like honey. Tori backed away again, shaking her head ever the slightest. "We're with the FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit. We're here to ask you some questions," he added, putting his badge back in his pocket as he leaned back, his eyes turning slightly to the agent behind him.

"Tori we-" Derek Morgan started, taking a step forward.

"How do you know my name?" Tori snapped, backing away again as she clutched the phone in her hand tightly. Derek Morgan looked at his friend with a nod and then took another step towards the frightened young lady. His face was composed in a flash as he straightened his shoulders and came to stand beside Spencer Reid.

"Can we ask you some questions?" Agent Morgan asked, pleading with his dark eyes. Tori looked at Spencer with wide eyes, lips parted like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. All her words were trapped in her throat, which seemed to tighten with every passing second, limiting the amount of air that could enter her lungs. Her lungs screamed for air and she breathed in heavily, raising her chest as she did and taking another step back. She needed space, needed to get away from them as soon as possible.

"About what?" she asked again, the question being the only thing able to squeeze out of her throat. Spencer pursed his lips and raised his brows, a gesture that made him look even more attractive.

"About your parents, Tori," he answered. Tori took in another heavy breath. She had been expecting that answer, but now that it was out, she couldn't wrap her head around it. She had told everything she knew about her parent's murder when she was seven. Why would, all of a sudden, the police want to know more? There was nothing new that had come up, and if there had been, Tori would have advised the police a long time ago. "I understand that it was a long time ago, but we think that, uh, the man who did that to your parents has been doing it again lately."

"What do you mean?" asked the brunette as her brows furrowed even deeper and the air was being restricted from her lungs even more. The two agents shared a look of sympathy and affair, their eyes locking for a brief moment before the darker man nodded.

"We have profiled the killings of before June 17th and the ones that have been occurring lately, and we have found a connection," Spencer explained as he watched Tori's face fall. "We believe that the man who did this to your parents stopped after your family, and has now restarted to kill."

"But what do I have to do with it?" Tori asked, her voice betraying her fear and sadness. Spencer tilted his head sideways as his eyes softened even more.

"Because you're the only one that the unsub has communicated with," he answered. "And you're the only person he's left behind alive and intact, so we have a reason to believe you might be in danger." That was it, the final straw that made Tori crack. Her gasp came out so loud and fearful, that it took the both agents by surprised. The dizziness came back with full force. Shit, she was going to vomit right there on the ground.

"I, I need to go to the bathroom," she babbled, eyes wild as they searched for the door that lead back into the club. Without another word or a look back at the agents, Tori sped off to the door. The bile rose in her throat and flooded her mouth before she even got to the door. With a horrific sound, the young woman barfed on the ground, hand on the wall to steady herself. A huge wave of heat overcame her body then and she threw up again, body convulsing with the force of her sickness. Great, now she'd have to clean that mess up after.


	3. Chapter 3: Interrogation

**Chapter three, please review if you liked! Thank you.**

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Chapter 3: Interrogation

Spencer rubbed at his eyes tiredly, arching his back and stretching his legs. Long days like this were the worse. The days where the team stayed at the office to complete reports were the days that everyone seemed dull and grim. Well, that's how everyone seemed to Spencer Reid, dull and grim. Except for Tori Summers. He had seen the light in her, the fire of her heart and soul. Spencer could see things like that, he always saw them. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, the delicate features of her face being just so interesting to him that he just couldn't look away. However, Reid was shy and not at all a ladies man like Morgan was. He wanted to talk to her, get to know the girl more, but Morgan had insisted they get straight to the point of her parent's murder.

Spencer held the case file of June 17th, 1994. The file of Tori's parent's murder. The report stated Tori was only seven years old at the time, and was found under the bed asleep and with a note clutched in her right hand. How could she have possibly fallen asleep? Spencer knew the mind did things on it's own to protect its owner, so maybe a shut down had happened to the child and she was forced into sleep. Spencer huffed and brought his dark brown eyes back to the paper. Shelby Summers was stabbed three times in the chest and shot in the head, the ballistic review showing the murderer had used a silencer on his 9mm handgun. Donald Summers was stabbed twelve times in the chest and shot in the face. Personal. However, what was more interesting to Spencer Reid was the note that the unsub left behind. You're welcome.

"Hey," Spencer snapped his head up to meet the warm dark brown eyes of his colleague, Emily. She gave him her warm smile and butted in on his desk, hip sticking out as she did so. Her hands adjusted her black suit vest that she was wearing, her light pink T-Shirt adorning to her body under. "So, I've heard about Tori," she said carefully, clearing her throat as she looked around.

"Yeah, poor girl threw up three times before passing out," was Spencer's nervous answer. Truth is he knew Emily was onto something by asking about Tori.

"How is she?" Prentiss asked, searching Spencer's averted face with her eyes.

"We brought her to the hospital, she's going to be fine," he answered, sitting up and shuffling mindlessly in his papers that were scattered all over his desk. Emily scoffed, her hand clearing a loose strand of dark hair from her face.

"Derek told me she showed some interest in you," she said with a light chuckle. Spencer jumped up with his empty mug of coffee in his hand and cleared his throat loudly. Head turning side to side and eyes averted, he turned his back to his colleague.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Emily," he answered in a mumble, walking away rapidly to the coffee stand. He heard Emily's chuckle, but didn't feel her follow him. With a heavy sigh, the young man filled his coffee mug and took a sip. He noticed the slight trembling of his hand and frowned. He put a hand to his beating heart and bit his lip.

"Reid," it was Hotch, passing by him with a file in his hand and his usual business look on his face. He gave Reid a questioning look that the young man dismissed. "Briefing room in five," declared his boss before walking away towards the rest of the team, who had their heads down in work.

Reid took his time to the briefing room. He passed by the men's room, sipped his coffee slowly until he saw the rest of his team in the room before going in himself. Everyone looked up and gave him a frown. Reid was never late and when he was, he would speed into the room and start dabbling about some random statistic he read earlier. However, he was walking slowly, his head down and eyes cast over, deep in concentration. He hadn't noticed the looks his team mates were giving him until Morgan cleared his throat loudly. "Reid?" Hotch's loud voice interrupted his train of thoughts. The young man snapped his head up and looked at his boss.

"Yes, sorry," he mumbled, pulling his rolling chair back and sitting in it, setting his coffee in front of him as he took the file Morgan passed him. The dark man gave him a questioning look that Spencer dismissed with a shake of his head and a frown. "What do we got?" he asked to derive attention from him.

JJ got up from her seat around the round table, took the remote and lit the T.V that hung to the wall. She flicked her head sideways to get rid of loose strand of her blonde hair from her big blue eyes. "Alright, February 7th, March 30th, April 24th and June 17th 1994, four families were brutally murdered in their homes here in Quantico, Virginia," the blonde agent began, grasping everyone's attention. "They shared these same traits; drug use, domestic abuse, child abuse and an only daughter in all families. The entire families were murdered, even the children, except for one," after displaying the family portraits of the first three families, JJ pressed a button and the family of the Summers appeared on screen. "The Summers. Donald and Shelby Summers were killed like all the other victims, shot to the head or face and stabbed multiple times. Except that their seven year old daughter, Tori, was left alive under the bed with a note that read: You're welcome," JJ then pressed another button and the note appeared on the screen.

"Lately," she began, the whole screen going blue as all the images vanished. "Four other families have been murdered the same way and no survivor has been left behind. In four months, this unsub has managed to kill four families, he's not kidding this one," she said as the pictures of the recent murdered families appeared on screen.

"We know it's not a copy cat because the police never released to the press about the note that Tori Summers received," Hotch declared, everyone's attention turning to him as he eyed the screen. "And, in the recent families' homes, on the walls, written in blood was; you're welcome," with that, four pictures beeped up on screen. Each one was of a different family wall with You're Welcome written in blood. Emily Prentiss frowned and shook her head, disgusted that someone would do such a thing.

"The note that Tori got could mean two things," Reid started, leaning into his chair as everyone seemed to smirk at his usual self coming back. "One, he could have meant you're welcome that I killed your drug using, abusive and neglecting parents. Or, it could have meant he was saying you're welcome I didn't kill you, like he would expect Tori to say thank you for letting her live," he finished. Everyone nodded at his two theories, and he smiled silently, glad to help.

"Ok, so why do we think Tori could be in danger today?" Morgan asked, flipping the file of June 17th 1994 open.

"Because he's made contact with the police, meaning he wants them to know he's smarter, like a 'catch me if you can' thing," Hotch started. "He's a narcissist, he has probably followed the investigations very closely, probably put himself in them so he could be in control and know everything the police know so he can be one step ahead. He's a perfectionist and doesn't like to leave things behind unfinished, so that's why we think he might go after Tori because he probably feels like she's unfinished business."

"But what has he been doing for almost twenty years?" Emily asked, dark brows furrowed as she looked upon everyone. Hotch looked at her sideways and wired his lips.

"He could have suffered an accident that has made him disable for all that time and unable to kill," he suggested.

"Maybe he moved somewhere else and has killed there, but we haven't made the connection," JJ said, brows quirked as everyone seemed to nod at her theory.

"Or he could have died and his offspring is continuing his work," Rossi offered, which seemed like the better theory to adapt.

"Alright, we're working on it here in the bureau, so get comfortable," Hotch said, an attempt to make everyone laugh but it failed. "I know it's a long shot, but get Garcia to check any men between the ages of 30 and 50 who died or became disable in the last twenty years."

"Hotch," JJ exclaimed. "That's going to be a very long list, you know that right?" she asked, everyone turning to look between the two. JJ was the only one in the group, except for Rossi and Morgan, who dared to challenge Hotch. She was just the type to challenge authority a bit.

"I know, but that's all we have," he answered brutally, making the blonde agent recoil and bow her head in disappointment. "But right now, I need someone to go talk to Tori Summers," he declared. Spencer jumped up in his seat, eyes wild. His heart sped as he recalled the last time they tried to talk to Tori and she ended up vomiting. She would probably throw another fit if she was interrogated again. Spencer wasn't sure it was the best time to talk to her.

"But the girl is scared to talk about it," he said out loud, catching everyone as they were starting to leave. Hotch sighed and looked around.

"Alright, Prentiss and Reid go to Tori's apartment," he declared, totally ignoring Spencer, who felt a bit assaulted by that. "JJ and Morgan go to the latest crime scene, Rossi and I will go to Tori's foster mother's house to see if she knows anything. Get Garcia going on that list please," he added before the whole room emptied.

Reid followed Emily out of the briefing room with his head hung low and his coffee mug in hand. He wasn't in the mood to drink it, but he still held it in his hands for no apparent reason. Truth is, he was a bit scared of how Tori would react, but on the other hand, he wanted to see her again. A smile pulled at his lips as he recalled the sharp green of her eyes and the soft ivory color of her skin. She had seemed to be interested in the young man, but he couldn't be sure. Why would any girl be attracted to someone like him, right? "Reid?" the young man snapped his head up to meet the sarcastic smile of Emily and her burning gaze. "You O.K?" she asked, real concern turning her features over. Reid nodded sharply as they arrived at his desk. He bent over to grab his bag, stuffing in the case files of all the related victims. The case file of June 17th, 1994 seemed to burn the skin at his hands before he dropped it in the bag.

"She won't cooperate," he said out of the blue as they walked to Emily's desk. The brunette turned around with a quirked eyebrow and huffed at him.

"With that cute face of yours, I think she will," she chuckled, taking her coat and swinging it over her shoulders. Despite the hot weather, it was raining that day and Emily was a natural cold person. Reid didn't mind the rain, but preferred to be warm and cozy in his long, colourful socks. For a brief second, the young agent wondered if Tori liked colourful socks.

"Thanks Em," he mocked as the duo made their way out of the bureau.

A rainstorm was rattling the outside world with force and loud thunder. As Reid babbled on about rainstorms to an ignoring Emily, the pair got into the SUV and drove down to the address that Hotch gave them as being Tori's apartment. Spencer was talking too much, but he was nervous. He was scared of how Tori would react upon seeing his familiar face. His hands shook slightly, and he hid them under his thighs so Emily would not notice. However, the brunette agent was a good profiler, and had no doubt notice the quiver of his bottom lip. "You nervous?" she asked with a chuckle. Reid shook his head, water droplets flying from his short hair and hitting the inside of the SUV.

"Most people get nervous when they-" he started, an attempt to derive attention from his shaking hands and trembling lip.

"Reid, just please shut up," Emily said, glazing her eyes over as she jerked the wheel. Spencer chuckled, amused that his non stop babbling had gotten on Emily's nerves. In fact, it got on everyone's nerves, but no one said anything because they didn't want to hurt the young man's feelings.

The black SUV parked in front of a tall, modern apartment building a half hour later. As a lump rose in Spencer Reid's throat and his heart beat increased, he watched Emily tugged the key out of the ignition and jump out of the car. He followed hesitantly, closing his door loudly so they wouldn't startle Tori, who probably didn't know of their arrival. The young man ran after Emily through the rain, his eyes searching the building at the same time.

Emily stopped at the main door and looked behind her for Spencer. The agent smiled his wiry smile before the woman pushed the button for apartment five. There was a long silence in which Spencer fought between hoping for Tori to answer and for her to ignore them. His mind and heart seemed to go for two different options. His head wanted to turn around and run back to the SUV and convince agent Prentiss that the lady would not answer. However, his heart beat so loudly against his chest that he stood firmly in place, the beating muscle wanting the young man to see the woman again. "Who is it?" Tori's voice demanded through the speaker. Emily smiled and looked back at her partner, brows quirking as the two made eye contact.

"Yes, this is the FBI, may we come up?" Emily asked, voice loud over the thunderous rainstorm. Another silence and Spencer was sure Tori would not answer. He shut his eyes for a brief second before the speaker buzzed again and the door clanged open. The young agent resisted a cry of joy as he passed through the doorway with his partner.

Inside the lobby, the two agents aimed for the elevator and squeezed in, their breaths heavy. Emily's hair was wet, dripping and soaking the red tiled floor of the elevator. Spencer too was wet from head to toe, his short hair flat on his skull rather than the usual half spiky look that he gave them in the morning. He didn't dare look at Prentiss, knowing that she would be wearing one of her sarcastic smiles that always made him cringe. Rather than make his usual babbling when he was nervous, Spencer kept to himself, eyes cast and head bowed.

When the elevator dinged for floor two, both agents shared a half worried and excited look before the metallic doors rolled open and their feet shuffled through them. The hallway was quiet, the beige wallpaper covering the walls and matching the red carpeted floor perfectly. A window sat at the end of the hallway, casting a grey light of rain on the floor, shadows of the windowsills littering the floor. Apartment five was the third door on the left. A wooden door with a gold square in the middle with the number five encrypted on it stood between Spencer and the young woman he had wanted to see again since the night at the club.

Emily knocked three times quietly, and then stood back. There was a sound of shuffling on the other side of the door before it swung violently open. Tori stood in the doorway, a grey, round collar T-Shirt on her and baggy blue jeans hanging from her hips. Her dark hair was tied back in a thick ponytail with her bangs on each side of her forehead in a perfect separation. Her face was flushed, signs of a recent shower evident in the rosy tint of her skin. She had no make up on, not like she needed it, and looked so fresh that for a moment, Spencer thought about how she smelled just like a fresh raspberry from the fridge. Shaking his head ever the slightest, Spencer brought his eyes to her green ones in a hesitant manner before she looked away. "Hi, Tori?" Emily asked, breaking the little trance in which Spencer had brought himself in while looking at the woman.

"Yes?" came her hesitant reply as she fought eagerly not to look at Spencer. However, he couldn't keep his eyes off her. She just looked so fresh and pretty in her everyday outfit, and those baggy jeans fit were twice as better as the mini black skirt she wore at the club. How normal she looked right in that moment, innocent and fresh.

"I'm agent Prentiss, you met Dr. Reid before if I'm correct," Emily was doing it on purpose to bring Tori's attention on Spencer, and the young agent knew it perfectly. Pay back was a bitch, and so would Emily be once Spencer got his revenge.

"Yes, yes," Tori agreed, bringing her soft green eyes onto Spencer for a split second.

"May we come in?" asked Emily, looking over Tori's shoulder with a quirk of her brows. Tori had no choice but to let the two agents in, moving aside as they entered the cozy apartment.

As soon as the door was closed, Tori moved to stand in front of them while they took in the place. It was cozy! It was small though, but Tori resided alone, so she didn't need a load of space. A small cozy, brown kitchen sat on their left with an island, a high fridge and a wreck looking oven. Dirty plates sat in the sink with wrappers and empty bags of chips. Mugs of coffee sat around the counters making everything seem just like any other normal young woman's apartment would. There was a bed at the far left corner, a queen mattress, Spencer noted. The sheets were dark blue and puffy, pillows swung everywhere as were the covers. To make a little privacy, Tori had hung up white curtains around the bed so the space could be enclosed. A small living room with a shitty T.V set sat right smack in the middle and a small fireplace took the whole right corner. A door shadowed the right wall where a possible bathroom could be.

Everything looked normal. Magazines scattered on every night table with books, coffee mugs here and there, family pictures in frames decorated the walls and bookshelves. Trophies from recent wins sat on the shelves and on the fireplace. Three small plants lived around the girl's bed, twisting around the three attainable poles. The lightening was taken charge by several lamps on the floor or on the shelves. Nothing was bright, just visible, but not dark. "May we have a seat?" Emily asked after the brief observations of the young woman's apartment.

"Yes, of corse," Tori answered, gesturing to the couch in front of the T.V. "Can I get you anything to drink, or a towel to dry your hair?" she offered, a shy chuckle escaping her lips. Spencer smiled at the girl, but she was looking at Emily.

"I'll have a coffee and a towel please," Emily said, walking over to the couch on which she sat politely on.

"Me too," Spencer echoed as Tori zipped past him to the kitchen. The young man walked slowly to the couch, head twisting in every direction as he caught better glimpses of the pictures on the walls. "Where are you originally from?" he asked, his lips forming the question before his mind could allow it. There was a silence in the kitchen before he heard cups clattering and he sighed silently.

"Michigan," the girl answered from the kitchen. "I moved here when I was four," she added as Spencer heard the coffee machine start to work. Tori moved to the bathroom as Spencer took his seat next to his partner, who was also looking around for anything to profile.

"How many foster homes did you visit before being adopted?" Emily asked. By now, Spencer was sure Tori wasn't surprised anymore that the FBI knew a lot about her life.

"Three, Lenora Donavan adopted me when I was fifteen," Tori answered as she came into view with two white towels in hand. She handed them to the pair, not daring making eye contact with the man, who was a bit disappointed about that. Tori went back to the kitchen rapidly, leaving behind a fresh smell of her shampoo.

"Are you O.K with the fact that we will be asking questions about your parents?" Emily asked cautiously. The agent eyed Spencer while silence reigned in the apartment. After three intakes of air that Reid counted, there was a clatter of cups again and the sound of liquid pouring into glass.

"Yes I am," replied Tori, voice a bit shaky. This seemed to relieve a great deal of stress of Emily's shoulders as she slumped back into the couch and dried her hair with the towel. Spencer set about to do the same thing, ruffling his hair with the towel and letting some water droplets hit the wooden floor.

Tori came back with two steaming grey cups of coffee that smelled divine. Emily took hers graciously and didn't waste any time in taking her first gulp of the hot beverage. When Tori handed Spencer his, their hands touched for the briefest of moments, and he swore he thought his heart would pump right out of his chest. Her skin was soft and so tempting to just reach out and stroke it. If it had been under very different circumstances, Spencer would have tucked the loose strand of hair by her cheek just to feel her soft ivory skin again.

"I already told everything I knew to the police when I was seven," Tori declared as she took a seat in the arm chair next to the couch. She lay her upper arms on her thighs and wringed her hands, her body leaning in as her eyes searched the two faces of the agents.

"We know, but we study behaviour," Emily started, turning to her partner for any help he could bring with his expert mind."It would really help us if you told us how he reacted, walked, moved, or if he spoke," Spencer added to Emily's beginning, nodding his head as he took a sip of his coffee. Tori frowned, shaking her head.

"He never said anything," she answered, eyes cast on the floor deep in concentration. "He walked slowly, normally I guess. He-oh… when he got in my room, he sighed heavily," her head shot up and her soft green orbs hit Spencer's dark brown. Emily leaned back to take out her notebook and pen, rapidly scribbling down what she had been told.

"Could you say he appeared calm?" Spencer pressed, not letting his eyes drop one bit off of hers. They were so beautiful, almost delicious. Her head tilted to the side and she frowned.

"Yeah, he didn't look at all in a hurry to get out," she replied, voice working hard to stay on the same tone. "He even stopped in the middle of my room," with that, her voice cracked and she began to sob a bit, shoulders hunched and head in her hands. Emily looked at Spencer, but the latter one was contemplating the saddened woman in front of him.

"We're sorry to evoke these memories back," Spencer soothed, brows rising as Tori straightened up. She sniffed once and shook her head, wiping her tears away.

"Why do you need to know this again?" she asked.

"After your family, the man who did this just disappeared off the map," Emily started, flicking her notepad closed and setting the pen on it. She proceeded to take another gulp of her coffee before setting it down on the table. "Lately, he has resurfaced. You're the only one he has left alive in all his killings," she finished, struggling to keep her voice calm as not to startle Tori. The girl nodded, pinching her lips together as her eyes darted in every direction.

"And you said I could be in danger, how?" she asked, the question seeming to squeeze out of her throat with great effort. Spencer's heart squeezed ever the slightest at the sight of her saddened face.

"This man is a perfectionist and a narcissist," Emily started, using her hands as she spoke.

"He doesn't like to leave things behind unfinished and to see them grow and prosper," Spencer continued, watching with a tight throat as Tori's face fell.

"Leaving you behind is now his undoing, which he probably hates himself for and will continue to until he-uh-," Emily could not quite finish her sentence, her words getting stuck in her throat.

"Kills me," Tori finished for her. As if coming to the sudden realization that she had little time left, the brunette leaned back in her arm chair and cast her eyes out the window over the television.

"But we won't allow that," Spencer pressed, leaning in as his eyes widened with sadness. He couldn't look at her with her features struck with fear. "You can come with us in witness protection, or agree to a police cruiser sitting in front of the apartment with an officer by your apartment door," he tried seeing her eyes fall to the floor.

"I have a life, work, friends and family," she mumbled. "I can't just disappear like that just because this guy forgot to kill me," her last sentence came out as a cry for help, but she masked it with false anger and a lot of courage.

"We totally understand that," Emily answered, nodding her head. "But we would like you to consider the protection we're offering here. This unsub won't back down at anything," she warned, eyes direct and honest.

"I need to ask," Spencer spoke, his eyes going straight up to Tori's face for permission. "Did you get any weird calls lately, like hang ups, or strange letters? Maybe a knock at the door and no one is there, a feeling of being watched or just plainly odd things happening when you're around other people?"

"Uh, no," Tori answered, frowning as she thought back to possible outcomes of the sort. "Why?"

"Because, for example, hang ups could just be the unsub making sure of where you live, or it could be a source of power for him, knowing you have no idea of what he is preparing," Emily answered. "Types of unsubs like this one are power researchers, they do weird things just to get a feeling of ultimate power."

"He might also have injected himself in your life somehow," Spencer continued, his hands moving up in the familiar manner. "He might find it fun to pretend to be your friend, or anything else, while you're totally clueless of whom he actually is. Can you think of anyone recent in your life that has made you feel odd around him sometimes, or you have noticed odd behaviour? Usually these unsubs cannot form any type of relationship, therefore friendships are a bit weird with him," he finished.

"So, you're saying I could know this guy?" Tori asked, petrified. Her face twisted into fear as her head snapped back and fresh tears dwelled up in her beautiful eyes.

"We don't mean to scare you," Emily tried to soothe, scooting over the end of the couch so she could put her hand on Tori's arm. For a brief second, Spencer felt a huge wave of jealousy towards Emily.

"We're trying to protect you," Spencer said, adding on to what Emily had just said. Tori got up suddenly, shrugging off Emily's hand in a violent manner. The brunette looked around, eyes darting in every direction as her hand went up to her abdomen.

"Are you feeling sick?" Spencer asked, worry drowning in his voice. Tori looked at him suddenly with a look of such despair that the young man had to hold in a gasp. She frowned at him and shook her head, eyes falling away from his.

"I just-It's just a lot of information to process right now," she admitted, biting her lower lip in such a cute manner. Emily got up suddenly, bringing Spencer to his feet as well. The two agents knew that it was time to leave and let the girl process it all by herself. Spencer felt pained to have to leave her like this, his only thought at that moment was to wrap her in his arms and try to soothe the pains away. However, the situation and his shyness kept him away from doing such.

"We're going to leave now," Spencer started, reaching in his bag as he did so. He took out a small, square business card and handed it to Tori, who just stared back with red eyes. "If there's anything, don't hesitate to call. Have a good day," he wanted to punch himself in the face after that. Have a good day? What was he thinking? After what they had just said to the girl, how could she possibly have a good day? Spencer felt so stupid that he wanted to turn around and hit his head repeatedly on the wall.

Emily and Spencer exited the apartment, heads bowed and brows furrowed. The young man was clenching his fists together as he walked down the hall, the sound of the apartment five door closing making him wince. "Well, that went well," Emily said, half sarcastic and half serious. Spencer shook his head, still mad.

That had not went the way he had imagined.


	4. Chapter 4: Gift

**Chapter four, please review if you liked... Or not. This chapter is shorter, but I promise I will make the next one longer!Enjoy!**

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Chapter four: Gift

Tori Summers woke up with a headache. Having had only three hours of sleep due to tormenting nightmares, the young woman was exhausted even upon waking. The girl lay in bed with the sheets over her face, hair in a bundle and the headache screaming against her skull. If it wasn't for the buzzing alarm clock on her night table, which buzzed for her to get up and start cleaning, the young woman would have stayed in bed all morning. Her shift at the club only started at seven, so she could have slept until then, but her house needed a good cleaning. Oh houses, the way they could just ruin your Saturday morning!

Flipping over the sheets in a rage, Tori groaned her way out of bed. Her bare feet padded the wooden floor as she made her way to the bathroom. After her face was washed, her body wore a black T-Shirt and a pair of shorts, and her hair was tied back in a pony tail, the girl proceeded to have a small breakfast. Her stomach was uneasy, having churned all night due to the terrifying news that she had received, it was not prepared to digest a huge egg and bacon breakfast. So, the brunette settled for a peanut butter and jelly toast with an orange juice.

After that, the young woman went about vacuuming the apartment. Her mind somewhere else, her stomach was allowed a rest. As her hands preoccupied themselves washing mirrors and dusting shelves, Tori fell in the trap of the music playing in the kitchen. Her body swayed from side to side as she sung the lyrics loudly. After a couple minutes, the girl decided to pump the jam and turned the music higher. Her favourite motivation songs blasted from the speakers as she went about her weekly cleaning. With a broad smile painted on her face, the brunette forgot all worries and danced to the music while she dusted the shelves and T.V.

"Tori!" her name being called out frightened her. She backed away and crashed into the table, a clatter echoing in her eardrums as she rolled to the ground. With a hiss of pain, the young woman jumped to her feet. Upon feeling something hot trickle down her ankle, the brunette looked down. A cut sliced through the skin at her ankle and leaked blood to her foot.

"Shit," she swore, reminding herself to deal with the injury after checking who was at the door. Passing by the kitchen, Tori turned the radio off with a violent push of the button and stomped to the door. Who the hell was it, because they caused her to cut herself and break the leg of the table in her living room!?

Swinging the door open violently and not bothering with the peep hole, Tori found herself shocked to the bone at who was standing before her. Her first thought was, who did he even get inside the building? Her second was, he looks sleepy.

Spencer bit his lip nervously, fidgeting on his feet at the sight of the young woman. "I'm sorry to bother you I was just-"he started, gesturing to the elevator.

"How did you get up here anyway?" interrupted Tori, who still held the duster in her hand. Spencer looked over her shoulder briefly.

"One of the residents of the building came out while I was about to buzz in, so I decided to slip in," he admitted, bowing his head down a bit and bringing his puppy brown eyes up to Tori.

"Why you here?" she asked, jaw tight. Honestly, the brunette wasn't up for anything else having to do with her parents. It had already been three days that Spencer and Emily Prentiss had been here and she still had nightmares. However, deep down, she had hoped to see Spencer again. He was just so interesting and intriguing. Maybe it was his chocolate eyes that rose the interest in the girl, but whatever it was, it had Tori captivated every time he set his eyes on her.

"Since you never accepted our offers of protection, I decided to check up on you," he admitted, squaring his shoulders as the lie became evident on his face. He was a bad liar. "We haven't heard from you in a while, so I was making sure, you know?"

"You're a bad liar," the brunette snapped, eyes glazing over while she crossed her arms over her chest, duster patting her chin as she completed the movement.

Spencer fidgeted, scratching the back of his neck while his eyes darted in every direction in search of a proper excuse. Mumbled and stuttered excuse escaped his lips, but they were barely audible that the girl didn't bother to try and captivate whatever he was trying to say. A blush crept up onto his previously pale cheeks, brightening his face. His eyes seemed to glint as he brought his guilty face back up to Tori's. "I have been told," he finally said, well articulating his words so they made sense. Tori smirked, letting her weight fall onto one leg.

"So why are you here?" she asked again, giving him one more chance to say the truth. Something Tori hated above all, were people who lied. Spencer reached back to scratch the back of his neck again, his blush deepening.

"You have to promise not to laugh and not think I am a creep on a psychotic break, alright?" he asked cautiously. This was already starting to amuse Tori, who hadn't seen this side of the young agent and was beginning to find it particularly cute.

"I can't promise such things," the girl replied, smirk widening on her lips as she leaned against the frame of the door. Spencer sighed, scared expression overwhelming his features as he looked into her eyes again.

"When I passed by your house three days ago," he started, resisting the normal urge to say the days, hours, minutes and seconds as he usually would. "I-uh-analyzed your apartment. By the way your walls are a dark brown and everything is a bit dim, I predicted you liked both the styles of music of Rock and Blues, maybe a combination of both. Statistically, it's proven that not most women tend to like Rock, but they will have a time in their lives to which they will become a little more rebel and, if they don't like the complete style of Rock, they will make a combination of Rock and Blues," he finished. Wow, Tori thought, eyes wide in surprise. The way he just babbled that right out was impressive. And so intriguing. However, Tori was malignant, and not always willing to relish in people's glory. Well, she did have to admit his knowledge was incredible.

"Impressive," she commented, nodding her head as the smirk came back on her lips. "But, you're wrong about two things," she chuckled, watching as Spencer's face fell a bit.

"I'm never wrong," he mumbled, brows furrowing.

"Well, you above all, should know that statistics vary and they are a form of simple random statistics, right?" she challenged. Spencer nodded, cagey.

"And those two things are?" he asked, intrigue about what he said wrong ringing in the tone of his eager voice.

"I am not a rebel, I have been this way since forever," she started, lifting her index finger to indicate the first wrong thing. "And, not because my apartment is dim, that I only like Rock. My tastes vary, but I despise hip hop and R&B. However, I listen to motivation songs, if that counts," she finished, broad smile illuminating her face. Spencer chuckled, shaking his head.

"Never thought you'd be one to challenge me," he admitted, making the young woman snicker.

"Why are you here, Spencer," she asked once again, voice sharp. It was one thing of him to start conversation, but he was avoiding the question of why he'd travelled to her apartment.

"It was to give you this," he blurted out, shoving his hand in the dark jacket he wore despite the weather. His hand came back out with a plastic and square album.

"The Black Keys," Tori declared, ripping the album from his hands. Her eyes darted up to his, which were alight with pride. "Thank you, I've been wanting to buy this for a long time now," she thanked, not realising she had dropped the duster to the ground. Spencer looked content, proud to have thought right. How could he have known such a thing?

"It's the newest album I could find," he commented, pointing his finger to the said album. Tori looked up at the man and smiled.

"You didn't need to do that just because you felt sorry for me," she said, looking away and back down at the album. Spencer's brows furrowed, knitting his delicate eyebrows into a frown. He pinched his lips together as his eyes narrowed down to the girl who was avoiding his gaze.

"I didn't buy it because I felt sorry for you," he answered, confused as his brow quirked. Tori rolled her eyes, smile still plastered on her face. Somehow, her smile managed to go from sincere to sarcastic in a matter of seconds. Or shall Spencer Reid say it, milliseconds.

"I get it you feel terrible for having to look at me while you bring back my past," she started, eyes still glued to the album. "But it's your job, that's what you do, so don't feel bad. I'm used to it by now, you know, the past," she finished, putting emphasis on the last two words, her voice almost sounding scary-movie-dramatic. Spencer shook his head harder this time, eyebrows furrowing even deeper.

"No, no," he answered. "I'm telling you in complete honesty, that I bought that album because I wanted to and I thought you'd enjoy it."

"Alright," she mumbled. "Hey thanks for passing by, I'll see you around," she finished, plastering a fake smile on her face and bringing her eyes back up to Spencer. Her green orbs looked masked, hiding something that the young agent desperately wanted to grasp. What had happened to Tori in the last few seconds?

"Yep, see ya," he answered before she smiled quickly at him and closed the door.

Upon shutting the door, Tori found herself pressing her back against its' wooden surface. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Her thoughts ran wild in her head, while her eyes darted in every direction and looking at nothing. Shit, shit, shit. She couldn't do this right now, think of him. He had been there, just centimetres away from her. His face had been right in front of hers, and she got scared. The dark demons came rushing back and she found herself closing in again. Tori had seen the look of confusion and sadness on his face, but chose to ignore it for her own internal safety. How selfish!

The brunette felt anger towards herself for letting her fear of hurt, attachment and openness cloud her thoughts. She walked right back to her kitchen, dropping her elbows on the counter and deposing the album on the counter. What was she going to do with it now? Play it? Let it dust in her shelves? Unable to decide on what to do with that album, Tori huffed angrily and walked away.

That was just like Tori, to leave matters hanging and to simply walk away from them.

* * *

Two days later, Tori found herself sitting in a café, sipping on a coffee with two creams, just the way she liked it. With her hand around the white mug, her legs brought up to her chest and her chin sitting on her knees, the young woman observed the outside world. The table she had chosen to sit at was in the far corner of the café and over viewing the street. Being a Monday and a complete day off for the young woman, she had decided to get out of her apartment. Sick and tired of looking at the same walls all the time!

That Monday, the brunette decided to leave her dark waves flow around her shoulders. Not even caring to style them properly, she had just brushed them after her shower and left them that way. Being a careless day, she had given her middle finger to make up and thrown on a black round collar T-Shirt with her usual baggy jeans and her all time favourite shoes, her Amberlights.

The streets were crowded, people shoving past each other to get either to work, or home. Small children ran through the mass of bodies, pushing and shoving. Men and women, busy on their phones or with papers in their hands, yelled out to the trouble making kids. Bodies past by the window through which the brunette was looking through, and none of the people seemed interesting to her. Only, when her eyes caught a familiar tall man walk past her did her attention quirk up.

The chocolate dark man stepped into the café, looking around as his dark orbs scanned his environment. For a moment, Tori didn't recognize him, but she was sure she'd seem him before. He was bald, but it fit him well. That's it! It was the other agent, Derek Morgan, who had been with Spencer at the club the night they met. Oh shit! What was he doing here? Oh right, maybe he was here to pick up coffee, because this is a coffee shop, duh.

Tori ignored him, turning her attention back to the window. However, she was nervous on the inside. She didn't want Derek to recognize her and possibly bring up Spencer. If he was to look her way she was screwed. So, the brunette made up a plan to flee if he was to turn her way. 1. Gather stuff as quickly as possible. 2. Make up an excuse not to be able to talk. 3. Get the fuck out!

"Excuse me, miss?" Tori snapped her head out of her plan, turning her gaze up to the person who had spoken to here. Sure enough, it was Derek. Shit.

"Sorry, I have to go," she mumbled, bending down to grab her bag and quickly standing as she threw it over her shoulder. Derek frowned, his coffee mug in hand.

"Where to?" he asked. He knew she knew him, and that she didn't want to talk.

"Somewhere that isn't of your business," she snapped back, walking past him and speeding for the door. If she could only get to her car, she was fine. But first, she needed to lose him.

"Nah, hey, wait up!" he called after her, catching up to her as she past through the doors of the café. Her frown deepened as she desperately avoided his eyes, her legs zooming through the doors.

"I can't talk right now," she mumbled again, stepping out onto the streets and aiming for her car.

"I just want to talk!" he continued to insist. Didn't he hear her? Tori felt a hand on her shoulder, twisting her around as she was about to stick the key into the lock on her car door. She met Derek's face with a smug look and a frown. He responded with a cheesy grin.

"What?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest in a bitchy manner that she only used when she was really pissed. His brows shot up and he let out a scoff.

"I just wanna know what you did to the kid," he answered, body leaning back as he brought his coffee to his lips. Tori frowned, pinching her lips together.

"What kid?" she snapped back. Derek laughed.

"My bad, I meant Spencer," he corrected himself, the brunette's blood sizzling at the name. "What did you do to him?" Again, he brought his coffee to his lips, never letting his brown eyes fall off the young woman.

"Nothing," she replied, breathing in loudly. Why was she so nervous when it came to Spencer? She couldn't wrap her mind around a reason, well she couldn't wrap her mind around anything but Spencer these days.

"No, nah ah, the kid is totally depressed!" Morgan exclaimed, throwing his arms around like a frantic dancer. Tori quirked a brow.

"And you think I got something to with that?" she asked, voice monotone, but fighting to stay calm despite the voice in her head that was screaming to ask how Spencer was doing.

"Now, I'm not jumping to conclusions here," Derek started, player look on his face as he brought his mug to his lips, dragging the suspense with him. "But since he laid eyes on you, the kid hasn't been himself."

"It could be drugs," Tori snapped, squinting her eyes. She was giving a random excuse to exclude her out of the reasons for why Spencer was depressed. Derek glazed his eyes and switched his weight on his right hip.

"Just go talk to him," he answered in the same monotone voice as Tori. "He needs it. You need it," he finished, saluting her with his coffee mug and walking away. He left a scent of after shave and coffee.

"I don't need anyone," Tori mumbled to herself, turning around with a tight feeling in her chest. Standing by her car, the brunette sighed heavily and closed her eyes. Two choices lay in front of her. Either she called Spencer and ended her constant want to see him. Or don't call him and live with the tightness in her chest for another lifetime before she saw him again. Fidgeting on her feet and biting her bottom lip, Tori surrendered to her inner feelings. "God damn you," she grunted through clenched teeth as she wrenched her car door open.

Throwing her bag in the passenger seat, the young woman reached for her phone and dialled the number of the BAU. Her heat sped uncontrollably, beating against her breast bone with such fierce; she thought it would burst right through her abdomen. One ring. Two rings. "BAU, how may we be in service?"

"Can I-uh-"Tori hesitated, voice trembling. Shit. Just do it! "Can I speak to Spencer Reid please?"


End file.
